Mot Hai Ba

Mot Hai Ba is a gem in Dallas. This small, unassuming eatery absolutely delivers big on flavor and experience. The duck is phenomenal—perfectly cooked, rich, and deeply satisfying. And the garlic noodles? Easily some of the best I’ve had anywhere: savory, aromatic, and impossible to stop eating. What really stands out is how this place captures the spirit and flavors of Asian-rim cuisine in a way you rarely find in an inland U.S. city. Every dish feels thoughtful and dialed-in. You can taste the care. If you know, you know—this spot is special. Cozy, delicious, and worth going out of your way for. Possibly one of the best takes on Asian-rim dining you’ll find in the U.S., period.

The food here was phenomenal! I came here with a small group and we tried a lot of things. Some of the stand out menu items were the ravioli starter, the shaking beef, stuffed leeks, and garlic noodles. The ravioli starter is a must order, it was the favorite of everyone in our party of 4. The lychee lemongrass martini was also phenomenal! Overall, no complaints anywhere. I would highly recommend this place to anyone! Oh and the chocolate cake was so amazing, I wish I could eat it everyday!

I can’t recommend this restaurant strongly enough. Easily one of the best in Dallas. We were so blown away in our first experience a month ago that we made another reservation while still eating. We tried nearly all of their cocktails and none disappoint. Every dish was exceptional, with layers of unique flavors that we’ve never had together. Some standouts include the leeks, kimchi foie gras, stuffed kimchi, shaking beef, garlic noodles… you really won’t go wrong. Finally, the staff are top notch. During our first experience, we mentioned that we were moving out of Dallas in a couple months. They took note, recorded it for our second reservation a month later, and did everything they could to make the second experience incredible. I’m sorry we didn’t discover Mot Hai Ba when we first moved to Dallas but we are so happy we didn’t miss it.

The menu is creative and offers a lot of unique bites. Overall, the quality is great and flavors are good across the board. My party ordered a variety of things and enjoyed everything. My personal favorite was the stuffed leeks. On the contrary, I didn't love the desserts and the duck, while very tasty, had one piece that was extremely chewy. One downside was that our branzino was forgotten. At the end of the meal we mentioned it to our server and he pretended like it was done on purpose, which was a bit frustrating. Although we received the fish within a few minutes, I'd rather the kitchen own up to it and just take it off of the bill than serve us a plate of fish after we'd already had the rest of our plates cleared. That said, it's an honest mistake and outside of that, our server was friendly and explained the menu well.

We’ve been trying to get reservations forever! We had an absolutely incredible dining experience at Mot Hai Ba last night! This spot is such a unique and thoughtful fusion of Vietnamese soul and French technique. A huge highlight of our night was our waiter, Mate. He was excellent and coursed the meals out perfectly! he described every dish with great detail and passion, and his recommendations were a total 10/10. the only miss for us was the short rib. Compared to the explosive flavors of the other dishes, it just wasn’t as impressive to us. If we could do it over, we would have swapped it for the duck hearts or another fish dish. Our favorite dish was the branzino with a side of the mushrooms and the dirty rice to soak up the sauces. One thing to note is that the restaurant is quite small, so the indoor tables get reserved quickly. We dined in the covered patio on one of the colder days But the heaters and wearing a jacket helped. If you’re planning a visit, I’d recommend trying to snag an indoor spot. The creativity in the kitchen and the hospitality from Mate will definitely bring us back. A must-visit and impressive spot to bring a guest.